Tell me something: unlearning common noisy wild urban birds through listening, voice and language

Pigeons, seagulls and corvids (crows and ravens) live in great numbers in most cities around the world. Their presence is universal as well as local. They are gregarious, loud and social and their various calls are common and heard frequently. Increasingly these birds are considered pests and nuisances although they are also loved and respected. Man’s shifting attitude to wildlife dictates which species are considered valuable and which are not at any one time. Through audiovisual installation practices using field recording, digital/analogue imaging and the spoken/written word, this project investigates our ambiguous relationship with these birds through a framework of everyday urban experience. My project builds upon specific works by multidisciplinary artists Natalie Jeremijenko, Marcus Coates, Snaebjornsdottir/Wilson and Mark Dion. Sound artist Salomé Voegelin provides a conceptual context through both her practice and her philosophical writing. Her use of written text as a means of recording sound has provided a framework for my explorations using phonetic words to render birdsong in text form. Conceptual writers Georges Perec and Simon Morris provide ways of engaging language and the written word as an expanded means of working with sound. Bill Fontana and Susan Philipsz’s site-specific sound works provide a stylistic context with which to explore the role of site in the project, and how exhibiting the work outside the gallery system in the public domain has contributed to the research. Postmodern thought that addresses the animal in contemporary art has been a key philosophical context for this project. The Postmodern Animal (2000) by Steve Baker and the more recent Art and Animals (2012) by Giovanni Aloi are significant texts for the project. Salomé Voegelin’s philosophical embrace of contingency as a means of understanding the wider role of sound echoes Baker and Aloi’s postmodern uncertainty and has provided the project with a clear underpinning in its sonic orientation. Humour, also a postmodern characteristic, has played an important role in the realisation of many of the artworks. The project references ecological/philosophical approaches as expounded by Val Plumwood and Kate Rigby. These writers challenge ways of thinking that position the natural world as separate from ourselves and thus objectified. Environmental philosopher Arnold Berleant’s focus on aesthetic experience as a means of understanding the interconnectedness of all things provides a context as does anthropologist Tim Ingold’s exploratative and wide ranging approach to human behaviour. The relevance of the project is also demonstrated by the very active worldwide scientific research into animal behaviour including cognitive biology, comparative psychology and animal cognition. Gilles Deleuze’s considerations of the wider possibilities of language anticipate Giorgio Agamben’s and Rene ten Bos’ reflections on the significance of animal voice, two of the few philosophers to do so. Adriana Cavarero drew my attention to the significance of voice in relation to language and how voice is commonly overlooked as a means of communication, while Roland Barthes’ and Michel de Certeau’s correlations between language and the city provide the project with ways of drawing together language potential between species prompted by an urban proximity

Resurrecting the alien director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet in Hollywood

This essay examines the critical reception of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien Resurrection in the popular Anglo-American press, where the film was often discussed in terms that highlighted the director's status as an 'outsider'. The anxiety that the film elicits among critics, it is argued, is a function of the very abjection that is depicted graphically within the film: a fear of the unclassifiable and of the crossing of boundaries

Morphological variations in populations of Lacerta from islands in the Adriatic Sea

Phenetic relationships in insular populations of Lacerta sicula and L. melisellensis correspond to geologic ages of the islands in two regions of the Adriatic Sea. Populations of L. melisellensis on older islands are more similar to populations of L. sicula than are L. melisellensis from younger islands, and examination of characters reflecting trophic structures of these lizards suggests that convergent evolution has progressed further in the populations on older islands. A rough correspondence between phenetic similarities of populations and island sizes was investigated by means of multiple regression analyses in which geographic features of islands were used as independent variables and means of selected morphologic characters were dependent variables. Island area, length and distance to the mainland were the most important variables "explaining" interpopulation variations in measures of trophic structures, dorsal scale counts, and numbers of femoral pores in L. melisellensis. Lizards from small isolated islands generally have larger bodies, relatively wider snouts and heads, relatively longer heads, more dorsal scales, and more femoral pores than L. melisellensis from larger islands near the mainland. Larger lizards with relatively larger head dimensions on small islands are believed to be the results of adaptations to situations of reduced interspecific interactions and restricted distributions of food resources. Dorsal scale count variations may be related to climatic heterogeneity, but the evidence is inconclusive. Likewise, variations in the number of femoral pores may be related to variations in a balance between conflicting selective pressures for avoiding predation and facilitating intraspecific communication, but basic information on the functional significance of these characters is lacking. Measures of relative variation for ten meristic characters in L. melisellensis showed no significant pattern of variation, but levels of intrapopulation variation in ratios of head measurements to snoutvent lengths were generally lower in populations on small islands and higher in large island populations. Island area, length, the distance to potential sources of colonists and elevation were shown to be important variables in "explaining" geographic variations in levels of intrapopulation variability of trophic characters. Low levels of relative variation for trophic characters in populations from small isolated islands are generally associated with relatively high levels of sexual dimorphism in head width, suggesting that strong directional selection resulting from intraspecific competition for food has depleted genetic variation affecting these characters. Evidence from gene frequency data and body size distributions on small islands shows that genetic drift and founder effects complicate selectionist interpretations of these trends. The similarity of the trends identified in insular populations of Lacerta to trends identified in other insular populations of lizards suggests a generalized response of lizards to isolation

Genome-Wide Linkage Analysis to Identify Chromosomal Regions Affecting Phenotypic Traits in the Chicken. I. Growth and Average Daily Gain

Two informative chicken F2 populations based on crosses between a broiler breeder male line and dams from genetically distinct, highly inbred (\u3e99%) chicken lines, the Leghorn G-B2 and Fayoumi M15.2, have been used for genome-wide linkage and QTL analysis. Phenotypic data on 12 body composition traits (breast muscle weight, breast muscle weight percentage, abdominal fat weight, abdominal fat weight percentage, heart weight, heart weight percentage, liver weight, liver weight percentage, spleen weight, spleen weight percentage, and drumstick weight, and drumstick weight percentage) were collected. Birds were genotyped for 269 microsatellite markers across the genome. The QTL Express program was used to detect QTL for body composition traits. Significant levels were obtained using the permutation test. For the twelve traits, a total of 61 (Gga 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24, and Z) and 45 (Gga 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, and E46) significant QTL were detected at the 5% chromosome-wise significance level, of which 19 and 11 were significant at the 5% genome-wise level for the broiler-Leghorn cross and broiler-Fayoumi cross, respectively. Phenotypic variation for each trait explained by all QTL across the genome ranged from 3.22 to 33.31% in the broiler-Leghorn cross and 4.83 to 47.12% in broiler-Fayoumi cross. Distinct QTL profiles between the 2 crosses were observed for most traits. Cryptic alleles were detected for each trait. Potential candidate genes within the QTL region for body composition traits at the 1% chromosome-wise significance level were identified from databases for future association study. The results of the current study will increase the knowledge of genetic markers associated with body composition traits and aid the process of identifying causative genes. Knowledge of beneficial genetic variation can be incorporated in breeding programs to enhance genetic improvement through marker-assisted selection in chickens

Observations of Detailed Structure in the Solar Wind at 1 AU with STEREO/HI-2

Heliospheric imagers offer the promise of remote sensing of large-scale structures present in the solar wind. The STEREO/HI-2 imagers, in particular, offer high resolution, very low noise observations of the inner heliosphere but have not yet been exploited to their full potential. This is in part because the signal of interest, Thomson scattered sunlight from free electrons, is ~1000 times fainter than the background visual field in the images, making background subtraction challenging. We have developed a procedure for separating the Thomson-scattered signal from the other background/foreground sources in the HI-2 data. Using only the Level 1 data from STEREO/HI-2, we are able to generate calibrated imaging data of the solar wind with sensitivity of a few times 1e-17 Bsun, compared to the background signal of a few times 1e-13 Bsun. These images reveal detailed spatial structure in CMEs and the solar wind at projected solar distances in excess of 1 AU, at the instrumental motion-blur resolution limit of 1-3 degree. CME features visible in the newly reprocessed data from December 2008 include leading-edge pileup, interior voids, filamentary structure, and rear cusps. "Quiet" solar wind features include V shaped structure centered on the heliospheric current sheet, plasmoids, and "puffs" that correspond to the density fluctuations observed in-situ. We compare many of these structures with in-situ features detected near 1 AU. The reprocessed data demonstrate that it is possible to perform detailed structural analyses of heliospheric features with visible light imagery, at distances from the Sun of at least 1 AU.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journa

Influencers and preference predictors of HPV vaccine uptake among US male and female young adult college students

Objective: The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of male and female college students in Kentucky about HPV associated diseases and vaccines, and to determine which parameters predicted self-reported uptake of HPV vaccination. Materials and methods: A self-selected cross-sectional sample of college students completed an evidence-based online survey. Results: Of approximately 1200 potential respondents, 585 completed the survey. The average age was 20.6 (SD 3.15) and 78% were female; 84% of the population had had one or more sexual partners. Concern for HPV vaccine safety and potential need for boosters did not significantly deter vaccine uptake. Likewise, knowledge about HPV associated cancers was not predictive of vaccine uptake. On the other hand, parental influence for vaccination was a strong predictor for vaccine uptake (aOR = 5.32, 2.71–13.03), and free vaccine nearly doubled the likelihood of being vaccinated (aOR 1.90, 1.05–3.41). In addition, the strong preference for the respondent\u27s partner to be HPV vaccinated predicted vaccine uptake (aOR = 4.04, 95% CI: 2.31–7.05), but the lack of preference for partner vaccination predicted an unvaccinated self (aOR = 0.50, 0.27–0.93). Conclusions: HPV vaccination has been successful in young adult college students in Kentucky. Young adults prefer their partners to be HPV vaccinated regardless of whether they themselves are vaccinated. Parental influence and free vaccine were positive predictors for vaccine uptake in this population

Genome-Wide Linkage Analysis to Identify Chromosomal Regions Affecting Phenotypic Traits in the Chicken. II. Body Composition

The current study is a comprehensive genome analysis to detect QTL affecting metabolic traits in chickens. Two unique F2 crosses generated from a commercial broiler male line and 2 genetically distinct inbred lines (Leghorn and Fayoumi) were used in the present study. The plasma glucagon, insulin, lactate, glucose, tri-iodothyronine, thyroxine, insulin-like growth factor I, and insulin-like growth factor II concentrations at 8 wk were measured in the 2 F2 crosses. Birds were genotyped for 269 microsatellite markers across the entire genome. The program QTL Express was used for QTL detection. Significance levels were obtained using the permutation test. For the 10 traits, a total of 6 and 9 significant QTL were detected at a 1% chromosome-wise significance level, of which 1 and 6 were significant at the 5% genome-wise level for the broiler-Leghorn cross and broiler-Fayoumi cross, respectively. Most QTL for metabolic traits in the present study were detected in Gga 2, 6, 8, 9, 13, and Z for the broiler-Leghorn cross and Gga 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 13, 17, and E47 for the broiler-Fayoumi cross. Phenotypic variation for each trait explained by all QTL across genome ranged from 2.73 to 14.08% in the broiler-Leghorn cross and from 6.93 to 21.15% in the broiler-Fayoumi cross. Several positional candidate genes within the QTL region for metabolic traits at the 1% chromosome-wise significance level are biologically associated with the regulation of metabolic pathways of insulin, triiodothyronine, and thyroxine

Genome-Wide Linkage Analysis to Identify Chromosomal Regions Affecting Phenotypic Traits in the Chicken. III. Skeletal Integrity

Two unique chicken F2 populations generated from a broiler breeder male line and 2 genetically distinct inbred (\u3e99%) chicken lines (Leghorn and Fayoumi) were used for whole genome QTL analysis. Twelve phenotypic skeletal integrity traits (6 absolute and 6 relative traits) were measured or calculated, including bone mineral content, bone mineral density, tibia length, shank length, shank weight, and shank length:shank weight. All traits were also expressed as a percentage of BW at 8 wk of age. Birds were genotyped for 269 microsatellite markers across the entire genome. The QTL affecting bone traits in chickens were detected by the QTL express program. Significance levels were obtained using the permutation test. For the 12 traits, a total of 56 significant QTL were detected at the 5% chromosome-wise significance level, of which 14 and 10 were significant at the 5% genome-wise level for the broiler-Leghorn cross and broiler-Fayoumi cross, respectively. Phenotypic variation for each trait explained by all detected QTL across the genome ranged from 12.0 to 35.6% in the broiler-Leghorn cross and 2.9 to 31.3% in the broiler-Fayoumi cross. Different QTL profiles identified between the 2 related F2 crosses for most traits suggested that genetic background is an important factor for QTL analysis. Study of associations of biological candidate genes with skeletal integrity traits in chickens will reveal new knowledge of understanding biological process of skeletal homeostasis. The results of the current study have identified markers for bone strength traits, which may be used to genetically improve skeletal integrity in chickens by MAS, and to identify the causal genes for these traits